Foreign minister praises US cooperation plan

Foreign Minister Wang Yi hailed on March 20 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s proposal that the two countries jointly chart the course for bilateral cooperation over the next 50 years.

At the annual China Development Forum in Beijing on March 20, Wang noted Tillerson’s proposal, which was raised during the secretary’s weekend stay in Beijing. Tillerson was on his first China visit and Wang said the proposal is “motivating”.

“China has always viewed the China-US relations for the long term and the nation is willing to advance the relationship with a long-term strategic view,” Wang said.

Currently, the two largest economies in the world are each other’s largest trade partner and the annual trade volume has been more than 210 times the volume of 1979, when diplomatic ties were forged, Wang said.

In response to concerns of a potential clash between the two countries, Wang said the two countries have seen their interests highly integrated and “a clash, if there were any, would lead to nothing but a lose-lose situation”.

Wang said Beijing is confident the two countries will strengthen ties and that two-way cooperation will be further deepened as long as the two sides create more openings for trade deals.

In looking back at the past 45 years, Wang said history shows a relationship in consistent growth despite ups and downs from time to time.

“This is a great trend that has been irreversible,” he said.

Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said “the stability of China-US ties is increasing” as the policymakers attach more importance to the relationship as China’s standing on the global stage continues to grow.

“They have to be more cautious when tackling disagreements with Beijing,” Wu said, adding that the existing mechanisms for two-way communication have helped boost mutual understanding and eliminate risks.

In his speech, Wang said China would press ahead in developing cooperative partnerships with other countries.

China is ready to strengthen strategic communication and deepen cooperation in various fields with key partners such as the US, Russia and the European Union, Wang said.